Contaminated drinking water is a big problem for indigenous communities across Canada. Some have been without safe water for years. The Canadian government says it's making efforts to improve water infrastructure on reservations.

It may be hard to imagine a composer being inspired by public hearings and court cases. But Lake Erie and its problems take center stage in a new oratorio from Cleveland composer Margaret Brouwer. http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/12/12/lake-erie-music

Two replica Christopher Columbus ships are sailing across the Great Lakes this summer. They offer visitors a chance to learn about the famous explorer's voyages. But some say the ships only tell half of the story.

Heard on All Things Considered--July 10, 2017

Trump's Budget Plan Proposes Cuts To Great Lakes Restoration Projects

President Trump's 2018 budget plan eliminates millions for Great Lakes restoration. What does that mean for projects across the Great Lakes, including research on harmful algae and Asian carp prevention efforts

In the 1960s, the American bald eagle was nearly extinct due to the pesticide DDT and habitat destruction. DDT was banned in 1972, and the eagle population rebounded. But now, there's a new threat: lead ammunition.

Back in the 1970s and '80s, Great Lakes beaches were the perfect spot for nuclear power plants. The fresh water helped cool nuclear reactors and small, lakeshore towns got jobs. Today nuclear power plants are finding it hard to compete with cheaper energy sources, forcing some to shut down. That’s divided one community on Lake Michigan that relies on Palisades Nuclear Power Plant.

Across the Great Lakes region, people are paying close attention to President Donald Trump's budget proposal. In the proposal, the president calls for steep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies charged with caring for the environment. The president's plan could eliminate $300 million in annual funding for clean up of the Great Lakes.

A technology competition seeks solutions to Lake Erie's biggest problems, including harmful algae blooms and aging water systems. Teams in cities around the region are competing for thousands of dollars in prize money and consulting services to create apps and other tools.

School traffic never bothers Max Schneider. In the airplane he takes to class every day, his commute is pretty easy. It's nearly 7:30 a.m. when a small, five-passenger Piper Saratoga plane takes off from the mainland in Port Clinton, Ohio. Pilot Bob Ganley is on his way to pick up students heading to school.

It’s the end of the workday at Great Lakes Towing, a company that proudly points to its 118-year history and founder John D. Rockefeller. Three men secured in harnesses weld on the bow of a new tugboat they’re building, a boat that will assist ships in emergencies and break ice in the Cleveland Harbor.

Carnival's Princess Cruise Lines is set to pay a $40 million fine for illegally dumping oil-contaminated waste into the ocean over the course of eight years, and lying to cover it up. It's the largest criminal penalty ever levied against a cruise line for intentional pollution. But Princess is not the only company doing this.

The Great Lakes have more coastline for beaches than the United States' East and West coasts combined. There are thousands of beaches — and dozens of drownings each year, in part because of dangerous currents that are very different from those found in the ocean.